MPhil in Literature, Culture and Thought (Taught)

This MPhil provides students with the critical and theoretical tools to enable them to undertake an in-depth study of specific aspects of European literatures and cultures and/or Latin American and Francophone contexts. The course introduces students to a broad range of critical theory concepts, allows for in-depth study of specific cultures and contexts, and includes writing a dissertation based on original research.

The MPhil is offered by the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics (MMLL) as a full-time programme and introduces students to research skills and specialist knowledge of specific cultural areas.

The course aims:

• to offer students with relevant experience at degree level a self-contained 9-month course in which they have the opportunity for in-depth study of specific aspects of European and comparative literatures and cultures (and in some cases film, history, and the visual arts) and critical theory
• to provide foundations for continuation to PhD research

These aims are achieved by:

• offering an overview of central aspects of modern literary/cultural theory and critical approaches to develop a general understanding of the field
• offering an opportunity for in-depth study of two areas in critical theory and approaches and for the development of skills to write on theory and to use theory or palaeographical and bibliographical techniques as a tool in the study of literary or other cultural texts
• offering an opportunity for expanding knowledge of the literature and culture of specific periods and language areas beyond the undergraduate level
• offering an opportunity for in-depth and sustained work on the individual essay and dissertation topics
• offering the opportunity either to specialise in one European language area or to continue work in several languages (in the latter case, offering guidance in developing comparative research projects)
• offering an opportunity to give seminar papers to a specialist audience in order to develop skills in presenting work and discussing the issues that arise from it with other MPhil students and senior members of the Faculty
• offering an opportunity to learn to work to tight deadlines (time management)
• offering practice in writing shorter essays with a strict deadline (4,500 words)
• offering experience in independent research and training in developing a realistic research project and writing it up as a dissertation (15,000 words) within a limited period of time
• offering an opportunity to develop bibliographical, editorial and other research skills
• offering an opportunity to work under the supervision of specialists in relevant areas
• offering the opportunity to participate in the research culture of the Faculty and to attend postgraduate seminars and reading groups

In addition to these subject-specific skills, the following general transferable skills are also acquired:

• the relatively intense timetable of the MPhil demands that students develop exemplary time-management skills
• they work in collaboration with their supervisors to devise appropriate plans of study and have to ensure that they meet all deadlines, both formal and informal.
• Students are expected to make regular presentations in seminar settings to develop their oral presentation skills.

Written work is assessed on the basis of a demonstration of scholarly research and critical analysis. That is, students are expected to present a lucid, coherent and carefully substantiated exposition of a critical viewpoint. Writing must be in clear, grammatically correct, continuous prose, and must function as a single, comprehensible, persuasive, cumulative demonstration, not as a series of disconnected insights. The organisation of the argument of the essay or dissertation and its prose style are of crucial importance.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the programme students will have:

• developed knowledge of critical theory and an ability to work with theory or specific critical approaches
• developed a deeper knowledge of one or more areas of Literature, Culture and Thought and of the critical debates within the relevant area(s)
• developed more advanced critical judgement and sensitivity to literary texts
• demonstrated advanced skills in literary analysis
• developed intellectual and practical research skills
• presented their own ideas in a public forum

Continuing

To continue to a PhD in the Faculty, students must apply through the University's admission processes, taking funding and application deadlines into consideration. Readmission is not automatic and each application is considered on its own merits. For those applying to continue from the MPhil by Advanced Study to a PhD, the minimum academic standard is an overall distinction on the MPhil.

Open Days

The University hosts and attends fairs and events throughout the year, in the UK and across the world. We also offer online events to help you explore your options:

• Discover Cambridge: Master’s and PhD study webinars - these Spring events provide practical information about applying for postgraduate study.

• Postgraduate Virtual Open Days - taking place in November each year, the Open Days focus on subject and course information.

For more information about upcoming events visit our events pages.

Applicants for this course should have achieved a UK High II.i Honours Degree. If your degree is not from the UK, please check International Qualifications to find the equivalent in your country. Although admissions interviews are generally not held, an interview may be held prior to recommending an offer of admission in some cases. By 'literature and thought', we do not mean studying any or all literatures in English translation. Applicants must show evidence of advanced reading competency in the language of the material proposed for the student's dissertation research, which must fall within the purview of one of the language sections of MMLL. (Prospective students are encouraged to look at the profiles of the Faculty members in the different language sections who might supervise their work.) In cases where one is not a native speaker of the target language, competency ordinarily must be demonstrated by a degree in the related field from a university where instruction was conducted in the language in question or by an undergraduate degree from another university where the student has taken advanced (i.e., final-year) coursework in a relevant field using the material in the target language. If such coursework is not indicated on the student's academic record, the student should submit the results of a formal language assessment of reading proficiency at the time of application (Common European Framework, C1 or higher, or American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Advanced High or Higher). Students sometimes have this competency in more than one MMLL language, but many students use the MPhil to work solely on primary material from one particular language (e.g., working on Russian primary material alone for all of their written work here). It is sometimes possible to develop the knowledge of one of the dissertation MMLL languages whilst the student is at Cambridge (e.g., via the University Language Centre), though it is not plausible to do so from scratch, as the student will be busy with the core work of the MPhil. In addition to writing on the MPhil about the material in the languages covered by MMLL, the student can also write about English language material (e.g., someone working on 19th-century literature in the second term might write an essay comparing Madame Bovary and Jane Eyre). However, students who wish to focus on texts written in English or translated into English will find relevant MPhils in the English Faculty. It is possible in the Literature, Culture and Thought programme to use conceptual and theoretical material in English translation. University Minimum Academic Requirements Language Requirement

Listening: 7.0, Writing: 7.0, Reading: 7.0, Speaking: 7.0, Total: 7.5, Listening: 25, Writing: 25, Reading: 25, Speaking: 25, Total: 110